Amherst College - farm-to-tablehttps://www.amherst.edu/taxonomy/term/18563
enA Ton of Watermelon: Book & Plow's First Harvesthttps://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/campusbuzz/node/508557
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p class="fine-print">by William Sweet</p>
<p>How local is locally-grown produce? At Amherst College it means you can barely break a sweat walking to where your salad came from.</p>
<p>This fall, the <a href="http://www.bookandplowfarm.com/">Book &amp; Plow Farm</a> began supplying Dining Services wth the fruits --and vegetables-- of its first harvest. </p>
<p>Farmers Peter McLean and Tobin Porter-Brown, with the help of students and other volunteers, kicked off the school year with a ton of watermelon, hundreds of pounds of kale, mustard, bok choi and tot soi, and pounds and pounds of tomatoes. Dining Services is also using carrots, onions, summer squashes and herbs from the farm.</p>
<p>Early this year, the college signed a lease with the pair to establish a farm that supplies Dining Services with produce. The for-profit operation sells crops to a few other customers, including some local restaurants and Hampshire College, but Amherst College is by far the largest customer and plays a large role in deciding what gets planted.</p>
<p><img alt="Harvesting Greens" class="adaptive-image media-image image-original-click" mm_media_margin="1" style="margin: 10px auto; display: block; border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Harvesting Greens" rel="https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/styles/original/private/media/working.jpg" style="margin: 10px auto; display: block; border: 1px solid #000000;" src="https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/styles/large/adaptive-image/private/media/working.jpg?itok=HgrrQXhl" /></p>
<p>“It’s a beautiful product,” said the college's Executive Chef Jeremy Roush. “They've been blessed with the right weather this year. The tomatoes have been like candy.”</p>
<p>Those involved say it’s been the beginning of a beautiful friendship, but a relationship which requires some flexibility and creativity, largely because the academic and agricultural years run practically on opposite schedules: Valentine Dining Hall shuts down for its big pre-Orientation cleaning just when harvest season is going gangbusters.</p>
<p>“We’re trying to extend the season in both directions as far as possible,” said McLean. “We’re trying to deliver food as far into December as we can, by growing things under plastic in the greenhouse, and we are going to plant some things in the fall that we know we won't be able to harvest until the spring.”</p>
<p>What the kitchen staff have not cooked up in a given week has been prepped and preserved for the weeks and months ahead. Which is the paradox: all this effort to go fresher has resulted in the top chef’s having to come up with more ways to preserve all that produce.</p>
<p>“When 200 pounds of kale comes in, you gotta do something with it,” said salad worker Bernadette Lynch, de-seeding a batch of the farm’s peppers. Rather than let pounds and pounds of basil, cilantro and dill go bad, they got prepping.</p>
<p>“The basil we preserved in olive oil, similar to a pesto; [with] the fresh dill we made a compound butter. Other herbs we dried over salt and infused the salt to make ‘herb salt’ for seasoning roasts and other items,” Roush said. “With tomatoes we made a classic puree to serve as a foundation for multiple other tomato-based sauces.”</p>
<p>All in all, they’ve prepared and frozen some 400 pounds of kale. They also blanched the braising greens and froze them to use as soup stock for the winter.</p>
<p>“Jeremy’s been really creative at how to extend the produce as long as possible,” said McLean. “On our end, we are growing frost-tolerant and hardy plants for the winter months.”</p>
<p>“This is the inaugural year, so obviously it's a very experimental year,” Roush said. “We are learning a great deal, working with new products, such as Komatsuna and Hakurei turnips. … This is a very exciting time for a chef.”</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><img alt="Preparing Farm Veggies at Val" class="adaptive-image media-image image-original-click" mm_media_margin="1" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Preparing Farm Veggies at Val" rel="https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/styles/original/private/media/IMG_2681_0.jpg" style="margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: 1px solid #000000;" src="https://www.amherst.edu/system/files/styles/large/adaptive-image/private/media/IMG_2681_0.jpg?itok=CTwc3d_v" /></p>
<p>There are products they won’t take, where good intentions run up against the fact that thousands of meals are served every day at Val. Garlic, because of the sheer volume in which it is used, still has to be bought peeled and chopped. Butternut squash, because it is labor-intensive to prepare, is purchased from larger farms in the Pioneer Valley.</p>
<p>McLean said the farm relies on the support of volunteers and student interns, who came out even during the blistering heat wave this summer. “These guys are great: super-spirited and super motivated. It didn’t matter how hot it was, they were up for it. We just bought the crew more popsicles.”</p>
<p>After all, Amherst students made this happen. A student group first approached the college’s administration in 2010 with the farm proposal. This grew into a committee of students, faculty and staff who solicited proposals from farmers wishing to lease land with “the dual goals of raising local produce and conducting educational and research programs that involve the entire College.” About a dozen farmers submitted proposals, and McLean and Porter-Brown were the top the choice.</p>
<p>“I think the Book &amp; Plow Farm is a great addition to what Amherst College already provides our students and community in the area of academics, social life and real-life experiences,” said Charles Thompson, director of dining services. “As for the dining program: we’ve long been a big supporter of local businesses and sustainable goods, so having our own farm on campus is about as good as it gets.”</p>
<p>Sure, sometimes the tomatoes are lumpy, and sometimes the red peppers are green. For those involved, supporting sustainability is worth some less-than-picture-perfect fruits and vegetables. For Roush, though, it all comes down to flavor.</p>
<p>“Some of the tomatoes that we had were not the prettiest, but what are you giving up? You might be giving up that polished pink-looking thing that is hard as a rock, for something that is rich, red, and juicy. The watermelon that we served for Orientation luncheon had some scarring on the rind, but once you cut it into wedges, you didn't have to worry about it, because the taste of it was so fantastic and so juicy. It’s just what it should be.”</p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-1 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/10901">Farm</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18563">farm-to-table</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18557">Book and Plow Farm</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/3324">dining services</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2442">valentine dining hall</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2995">locally grown</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2564">agriculture</a></div></div></div>Sat, 31 Aug 2013 11:43:36 +0000wsweet508557 at https://www.amherst.eduhttps://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/campusbuzz/node/508557#commentsCampus Farm Takes Roothttps://www.amherst.edu/aboutamherst/news/news_releases/2013/02/node/457971
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><span class="fine-print">February 26, 2013</span></p>
<p><span class="fine-print">Article by Caroline Hanna</span></p>
<p><span class="fine-print">Photos by Rob Mattson<br></span></p>
<div class="mediainline"><span class="inline"><img src="/media/view/457939/original/2013_02_22_RM_NewFarm_267x400_011.jpg" alt="2013_02_22_RM_NewFarm_267x400_011" title="2013_02_22_RM_NewFarm_267x400_011" style="display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;" class="image original" height="400" width="267"></span></div>
<div class="mediainline" style="text-align:center;"><span class="inline"><span class="fine-print">Tobin Porter-Brown, left, and Peter McLean <br>stand on land they will cultivate as part of <br>Book &amp; Plow Farm</span><br></span></div>
<p><span class="drop-cap2">F</span>oodies take note: The farm-to-table movement has sprouted on the Amherst campus. And in the college’s case, farm-to-table equals about three-quarters of a mile. Literally.<!--break--></p>
<p>Two enthusiastic young farmers, Peter McLean and Tobin Porter-Brown, have signed a deal with Amherst to lease a parcel of property on the east side of campus in the area known as Tuttle Hill. The pair will cultivate about four acres of the college’s land, to start, and sell in-season produce directly to Valentine Dining Hall. The duo’s long-range goals, as they describe them, are to collaborate with Amherst College and other institutions in operating a “full-diet,” diversified farm—producing vegetables, livestock, tree crops and grain for the campus and Five College community—and to become an efficient and productive agricultural enterprise year-round.</p>
<p>As their operation grows and matures, McLean and Porter-Brown also hope to lease more land from the college and expand their offerings. In addition, they plan to forge connections with Amherst faculty and students and use the land—along with their expertise—to create curricular opportunities.</p>
<p>In the near term, though, the pair’s goals are decidedly more concrete: They will erect a greenhouse by late April or early May and will plant salad greens that they hope to harvest in time for Commencement and Reunion in May.</p>
<p>“We will literally be able to cut several bushels full of heads of lettuce from our field, wash them and then drive them immediately up to Val,” explained Porter-Brown. “It’s as fresh as you can get—it’s like having a garden in your own backyard.”</p>
<p>Added McLean: “The average piece of produce travels 1,500 miles to the consumer, so we feel pretty good about trucking ours 1,500 yards to the dining hall at Amherst College.”</p>
<div class="mediainline" style="text-align:center;"><span class="inline"><img src="/media/view/457940/original/2013_02_22_RM_NewFarm_400x267_017.jpg" alt="2013_02_22_RM_NewFarm_400x267_017" title="2013_02_22_RM_NewFarm_400x267_017" style="display:block;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;" class="image original" height="267" width="400"></span><span class="fine-print">Farm committee members, from left, Arne Andersen '13, Mark <br>Uchneat, Rebecca Wettick '14, Porter-Brown, Monica Cesinger '15, McLean and Alex Propp '13. Official Book &amp; Plow mascot Ella<br> investigates in the foreground.</span></div>
<div class="mediainline"> </div>
<div class="mediainline">The seeds of the initiative, which McLean and Porter-Brown christened <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BookAndPlow">Book &amp; Plow Farm</a> (a nod to the Town of Amherst’s seal), began germinating several years ago with a handful of Amherst students. Led by Arne Andersen ’13 and Alex Propp ’13, the group first approached the college’s administration in 2010 with a modest idea for a farm that could supply some of Dining Services’ vegetable needs. Several years and many discussions later, a passionate committee made up members of many parts of the campus community—including students Monica Cesinger ’15, Deidre Nelms ’13 and Rebecca Wettick ’14; alumnus Bob Saul ’80; Samuel Morse, the Howard M. and Martha P. Mitchell Professor of the History of Art and Asian Languages and Civilization<em>s;</em> Molly Mead, director of the Center for Community Engagement; and, most recently, Mark Uchneat, assistant supervisor of grounds—issued a request for proposals from farmers wishing to lease a plot of campus land with “the dual goals of raising local produce and conducting educational and research programs that involve the entire College.”</div>
<p>About a dozen farmers submitted proposals, and just a few were brought back to campus, said Andersen, who works with his mother, Liz Dibble Andersen ’81, brother Charlie Andersen ’10 and sister Ellie Andersen ’15 on his family’s community-supported agriculture (CSA) enterprise outside of Philadelphia. McLean and Porter-Brown easily stood out.</p>
<p>Both young men, for example, have been farming for several years, said Andersen. McLean gained hands-on experience at a dairy farm in Belize and at the Audubon Society in New York, among other places. Porter-Brown worked on the campus farm at his alma mater, Hampshire College; helped build a student greenhouse there; and went on to hold positions at the Smith College Botanic Garden, where he played a role in setting up a native arboretum. Porter-Brown and McLean met at Brookfield Farm CSA in Amherst, where they apprenticed together. They share a passion for being outdoors and growing good, healthy food. Through their own experiences in the Pioneer Valley, they have strong relationships with the local community. And perhaps most importantly, both men immediately connected with Amherst students.</p>
<p>“What we saw in Peter and Tobin are two incredibly energetic, incredibly dedicated people,” said Andersen. “What they proposed—like farming generally, I guess—is going take a lot of work. But they are thrilled to be doing what they are doing. And they want to share their knowledge with Amherst students, which is a must in our book.”</p>
<p>Andersen explained that Book &amp; Plow has established a relationship with the college’s dining hall that operates much like a CSA. Where a CSA sells shares to many customers, Book &amp; Plow will have a few main customers, including Valentine. McLean and Porter-Brown will work closely with the Dining Services staff to determine the institution’s dietary needs, and the college will buy what is needed from the farm at a competitive price. If McLean and Porter-Brown have a surplus after satisfying these main customers, they can sell what’s left wherever they like, perhaps at one of the many farmers’ markets in the area. <br><br> “This farm is a genuine, for-profit business,” said Jim Brassord, director of facilities and associate treasurer of campus services, who serves on the farm committee. This sets it apart from many other college farms. Brassord said institutions as different as Hampshire, Iowa State and Vassar College, to name a few, have farms associated with them. But Book &amp; Plow’s proximity to the dining hall and its business model make it different. “It’s independent from Amherst [College], but it is also a partner of the college’s that is operating on the school’s land. What’s wonderful is that both the institution and the enterprise benefit.”<br><br> Also benefitting are Amherst professors and students. On the faculty side, “we’re already starting to see connections forming completely independently of us,” said Brassord, citing Professor Anna Martini, who is having undergraduates in her “Hydrogeology” course study the farmland and make a recommendation for an appropriate place to dig a well. “It’s really exciting to see it all happening.”</p>
<p>Students say they will learn new skills that they wouldn’t normally learn at Amherst, such as sustainable farm practices. And many, according to Andersen and Propp, are champing at the bit to become involved. McLean and Porter-Brown are currently <a href="https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/cce/intern/pv/pvsites/bpfarm">taking applications</a> for four students to intern at the farm this summer through the CCE’s Citizen Summer program and are hoping to sign on one more via Smith College’s Praxis Internship initiative. <br><br> “It’s been really exciting to see it all come together,” said Propp. He will graduate before seeing the farm in full action, but he feels confident that it will be in good hands with Cesinger, Wettick and other students when he’s gone. “It’s become so much bigger and better than we ever thought. It’s nice to be leaving something like this behind.”<br><br> Cesinger, a biology major from Atlanta with an interest in sustainable agriculture and agricultural science, shares that sense of legacy: “I really love the idea of starting something and seeing it flourish,” she said. “One day, I’ll be able to bring my kids back to Amherst and show them something that has been growing since I left. It’s such a great feeling.”</p>
<p>For McLean and Porter-Brown, all of this is music to their ears. They speak of having a pick-your-own plot for members of the college and town community to come and experience the farm, and of someday planting an orchard or raising livestock, among other distant goals.</p>
<p>“This is just an incredible opportunity for us and, I hope, Amherst College,” said Porter-Brown on a recent walk around the farm plot. “Starting a farm on a campus like this is really ideal—Amherst has provided us with so much support and help, and I really do feel confident it will pay off in the long run for all parties involved.”</p></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-taxonomy-vocabulary-1 field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Tags:&nbsp;</div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2442">valentine dining hall</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/2996">sustainable agriculture</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18557">Book and Plow Farm</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18558">Peter McLean</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18559">Tobin Porter-Brown</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18560">Arne Andersen &#039;13</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18561">Alex Propp &#039;13</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18562">Monica Cesinger &#039;15</a></div><div class="field-item even"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18563">farm-to-table</a></div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="/taxonomy/term/18564">Amherst College Dining Services</a></div></div></div><ul class="links inline"><li class="sharethis first last"><a href="/sharethis-ajax/457971" class="mm-sharethis">Share</a></li>
</ul>Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:56:45 +0000channa457971 at https://www.amherst.edu